Egypt’s Sisi: Islamists were hostile toward us, now demand reconciliation

Political Islamists who came to power before being ousted in 2013 are calling for reconciliation after they initiated hostility towards Egypt’s authorities, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said yesterday.

“The 2011 and 2013 revolutions are the cause of all the crises and challenges we are facing at the moment, because they offered an opportunity to Islamists to reach power,” Al-Sisi said, in reference to the Muslim Brotherhood.

“When Islamist politicians came to power, they failed while not recognising their failure, instead they considered us anti-Islam so they opposed us,” Al-Sisi said. “Now, they are calling for reconciliation with the Egyptian government,” he added.

In April, Sisi said he would hold a national dialogue between all Egypt’s political factions, including the opposition but he was reported not to have invited the Muslim Brotherhood to the talks, describing them as a “group linked to violence and terrorism.”

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